276 AVES : PASSERES. XLVI. 



chiefly Old World birds, a single genus in America ; some of them 

 are renowned as vocalists. Pre-eminent is the Skylark, Alauda 

 arvensis L., a species which has been lately introduced into this 

 country (Long Island, etc.). 



a. Spurious primary obsolete ; a little tuft of lengthened black feathers over 

 each ear (sometimes obscure in $) ; tail not forked. . OTOCORIS, 458. 



458. OTOCORIS l Bonaparte. (Eremophila Boie.) (ovs, ear ; 

 Kopvs, helmet.) 



873. O. alpestris (Forster). SHORE LARK. HORNED LARK. 

 Pinkish brown, thickly streaked; a crescent on breast and strip 

 under eye black ; white below ; chin, throat, and line over eye 

 more or less yellow ; 9 with less black ; winter birds grayish, with 

 the markings more obscure. L. 1\. W. 4^. T. 3. Northern 

 Hemisphere, common. A pleasant singer. Runs into many vari- 

 eties, the prairie form (var. praticola Henshaw) averaging smaller, 

 W. 4 to 4, etc. (Eu.} (Lat., alpine.) 



FAMILY CLXV. CORVIDJE. (THE CROWS AND JAYS.) 



Primaries 10; first about half length of second; nostrils usually 

 concealed by tufts of bristly feathers, which are branched to their 

 tips. Bill long and strong, usually notched, its commissure not 

 angulated. Tarsus sharp behind, its sides undivided and separated 

 from the scutella in front by a groove, which is either naked or 

 filled in with small scales. Voice usually harsh and unmusical. 



Birds of large size, the largest of the Oscines, found almost every- 

 where. Genera about 40 ; species 1 75. 



a. Tail not shorter than the short, rounded wings. (Garrulince.) 

 b. Tail much longer than wing, graduated for half its length, its feathers 



narrowed to the tips ; head not crested PICA, 459. 



bb. Tail not much longer than wings, not graduated for half its length. 

 c. Head with a conspicuous crest; (chiefly blue). . CYANOCITTA, 460. 

 cc. Head without crest; plumage lax; (no blue). . PERISOREUS, 461. 

 act. Tail much shorter than the long, pointed wings. (Corvince.) 

 d. Bill compressed, higher than broad; plumage glossy. 



* CORVUS, 462. 



459. PICA Cuvier. (Lat., magpie.) 



874. P. pica (L.). MAGPIE. Lustrous black ; belly, shoulders, 

 and wing-edgings white. L. 19. W. 8-|. T. 13. Northern regions. 

 The American bird (var. hudsonica Sabine) is larger, with the 

 feathers of throat spotted with white below the surface. Its range 

 is chiefly N. W. in America, E. to Wis. (Eu.) 



1 Otocoris is used for Eremophila by the A. 0. U., on account of the prior Eremophi- 

 lus, a genus of fishes. 



